Dr. John A. KingIndigenous Australian. 100% Human. Neo-Noir Novelist. Poet. Speaker. Performance coach. More than a Survivor. Terrible Golfer, Awkward Dancer🕺

Redefining What A Hero Is #dealwithit - living well with PTSD

4 Apr 2018 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:01

In this solo monologue, Dr. John A. King challenges conventional notions of heroism, arguing that true heroes are the comrades left behind and the friends lost in war. He asserts that vulnerability constitutes courage and explains that this insight motivated him to write his book, Deal With It. King describes heroism as the daily act of confronting personal struggles—whether emotional, psychological, or situational—and persisting despite them. He emphasizes that many veterans become unsung heroes, and he envisions a powerful legacy emerging when individuals rebuild their lives a second time after trauma, particularly PTSD.

Chapters

I think we need to, for ourselves, redefine what a hero is. I talk to a lot of my military mates and they will tell you very straight up that the heroes are the ones that they left behind. The heroes are the friends that they lost. I think we've mystified what it is to be a hero and we've mystified what it is to have courage. For me, vulnerability is courage. That's one of the reasons why I wrote Deal With It. I didn't want to write Deal With It. I just found that I needed to face down those things that had tried to beat me for years, and I wanted to do it in such a way that might actually be of benefit to others. For me, heroism is getting up every day regardless of what you face, regardless of what you feel, regardless of what you've got to overcome, and going again. And I think for many of us, we'll always be those unsung heroes. But can you imagine the legacy we'll leave when we rebuild a life for a second time?